This invention relates to a support base plate for preferably mounting thereon photographic equipment such as a photographic tripod head (also referred to herein as a “camera mount”), a camera, or any other suitable piece of equipment.
Almost every professional and many amateur photographers own tripods which function as bases to hold or support a tripod head (camera mount) designed to hold and level a camera mounted thereon. FIG. 1A shows a camera mount 20 designed to support a camera 30 and to adjust the camera's position and leveling (via elements 23, 25, 27). Camera mounts normally have a screw hole 22h centered in their bottom screw head 22 and a threaded stud (bolt) 24 extending from the top of the camera mount. The camera mount's stud 24 is intended to be screwed into the bottom of a camera 30 having a corresponding sized screw hole (not shown). The camera mount's screw hole 22h, which may be any suitable size (e.g., typically ⅜ inches), is intended to be attached to a correspondingly sized stud 22s extending from a tripod (see FIG. 1B) or any suitable base. Camera mounts are available in many different sizes, styles and configurations and may be purchased separately without a tripod. Likewise, tripods built to support a camera mount are also available in many different sizes styles and configurations. For ultimate portability there are many styles of tabletop tripods. The one shown in FIG. 1B being an illustrative example. Known compact tripods to support a camera or camera mount are built to support miniature cameras. However, tripods designed to support a large, relatively heavy, camera of the type used by professionals are bulky and heavy. It is therefore desirable to find a substitute or replacement for the standard tripod.
A problem faced by applicant was how to provide a stable and secure support base for a camera mount (tripod head) intended to support a relatively heavy camera with a telescopic lens attached which is so weighted to one side that the camera tends to tip over. An additional problem was the need to have a support base which would enable a camera mount attached to a camera to be securely placed on a table or on the floor, or mounted on a wall. Also needed was base plate which would include means for leveling the plate and which could provide gripping for hard surfaces such as, among others, rocks and concrete ledges. A still further problem was the need to have a support base which would be relatively light, and not bulky, and which could be attached to a piece of equipment and/or detached therefrom easily and without additional tools. That is, a major goal in designing a camera mount base embodying the invention was to make it possible to assemble (or disassemble) the camera mount base with selected camera components without the use of any tools (i.e., to make it tool free).